Never before in post-reforms India have Union Budgets seen a steady reduction in fiscal deficit for five consecutive years, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Jaitley's tenure as defence minister saw clearance of a number of big ticket reform measures and simplification of military acquisition process.
Investors and manufacturers have long advocated the GST.
The test of Jaitley's undoubted intellectual brilliance will be how he builds consensus and crafts policies that survive over a period of time.
His remark comes hours after the government disclosed before the Supreme Court eight more names, including that of Pradip Burman, one of Dabur India promoters, a bullion trader and a Goa miner against whom it has started prosecution for allegedly stashing black money in foreign banks.
Indian markets on Thursday shrugged off any negative impact.
It was a historic day in Rajya Sabha where a motion was moved to impeach a judge of Kolkata High Court and remove him from his post. At 3 pm on Wednesday, the motion was moved by Communist Party of India-Marxcist leader Sitaram Yechury.
The minister observed it took years to get permissions to start a project.
Last week, the government had introduced a fresh round of austerity measures, including bans on first class travel, creation of new posts and holding meetings in five-star facilities.
The finance minister is likely to announce the government's vision for a tax-friendly regime by raising the I-T exemption limit from the current Rs 250,000 per annum.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has shortlisted the changes it hopes to see in Budget 2017.
The Budget may see new rural schemes and stepping up of funding towards existing programmes like MNREGA, rural housing, irrigation projects and crop insurance.
India's tax officials, long the scourge of foreign investors, are under government pressure to avoid aggressive claims against overseas funds.
Modi govt faces extra spending burden due to policies like 7th Pay Commission and OROP
'The middle class stood by the BJP, especially after demonetisation, and they expected something in return.' 'Some section of the BJP believes the middle class is condemned to vote for the BJP as they have no other choice.' 'They think they can treat them any way, still the middle class will run to vote for it.' 'That's what the Budget seems to convey.'
Occasionally, a whistle-blower releases sensitive financial data.
The shift was sudden, quite unlike Shukla's departure from North Block, which had been anticipated for some months even before Singh''s first Budget.
Indeed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who as Gujarat chief minister was considered close to certain business groups and industrialists, has hardly been seen with any Indian business head.
An analysis of the frequency of various watchwords in the finance minister's Budget speech shows that he was perhaps trying to hold on to his ideas without treading on anybody else's toes, says A K Bhattacharya.
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